Stoughton High feasibility study just start of a process

Friday

Aug 8, 2014 at 11:40 AMAug 10, 2014 at 7:15 AM

By Allan Stein

As state and Stoughton school officials prepare to collaborate on a $1 million high school building feasibility study, one school committee member said there are other capital construction needs in Stoughton as well.On July 30, the state School Building Authority’s board of directors voted to extend an invitation to Stoughton school officials to collaborate on the feasibility study."I am glad that Stoughton was one of the towns that they voted for to conduct a feasibility study," school committee member Joe Soares said.However, he said, "there are a lot of buildings in Stoughton that need to be rebuilt. We need a new South School. Our buildings are very old.""I am definitely not against a new high school, but our town has limited resources and the right decision has to be made on which building (projects) make sense," he said.Stoughton School Committee Chairman Erdem Ural said the anticipated year-long study will establish whether it would be better for the town to build a new high school or renovate. The estimated cost of a new high school has been pegged at $80 million."This is just another step toward achieving our goal," Ural said of the feasibility study. "It is important, but it was expected."Currently, 3,651 students attend Stoughton schools. About 1,000 students are enrolled at the high school in grades 9-12.Superintendent Marguerite Rizzi described the feasibility study as part of a "process" and the next phase in the town’s capital spending pipeline."It is a process. It is a big step I expected would happen," Rizzi said.Rizzi said the town submitted a formal letter to the SBA that included a statement of interest outlining the district’s facilities need as well as a statistical profile of the district.School officials say the renovation or reconstruction project would need to provide for a stable enrollment population of about 1,100 students over a period of 10 years.Town Meeting voters last year authorized a $1 million appropriation for a high school building feasibility study. The SBA is expected to provide 58 percent reimbursement to the town for the cost of the study.